A matter of life and 774 Deaths

I imagine that, after playing Square-Enix’s 774 Deaths, most people would be comfortably able to describe it in one word. Not necessarily the same word, mind. In my case, that word is BRUTAL. The difficulty is brutal. Each death, usually on a blood-splattered blade, is brutal. The graphics and sound are brutally retro – though …

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The PSP’s last hurrah

The PSP has pretty much been ignored by publishers this winter, with just a few annual sport games and LEGO Harry Potter to see it through the bleak winter months. Square-Enix though are coming to the rescue – not only have they almost single-handedly kept the system in the public eye over the past year …

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Publisher’s unpublished pasts

Publishers tend to be a predictable bunch, releasing sequels and yearly sports updates, snapping up cartoon and movie licenses, and occasionally setting up new studios while closing down older ones. It’s a little odd, then, that when a publisher does something out of the ordinary it often goes unnoticed. A little research into the subject …

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Mindjack

‘Be careful what you wish for’ is a saying that certainly rings true when playing Mindjack. For years people have been saying that originality is dead in videogames with shoot ’em ups in particular being a case point. Feelplus – the Japanese developers behind this third person shooter – have tried to do something different …

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Final Fantasy XIII

I suppose this could be a new feature, “games I spent too much time slowly playing through and should have reviewed but kind of forgot to, so thought I’d better write something about them just for the sake of it”. So here isn’t a review of Final Fantasy XIII – but rather some unordered words …

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